Type A women: Ditch the stress addiction, slow down & find real happiness! With Annika Carroll
Learn a bit about my story - on the Hot Mess to Awesomeness Podcast (episode link below)
What got me into sleep and health coaching? How did I experience my burnout(s) - yes, there was more than one. How did I come out the other end?
Have a listen to episode 86 from the Hot Mess to Awesomeness Podcast with Dionne Thompson. I love Dionne and her work. The Hot Mess to Awesomeness Podcast offers busy women the chance to learn about themselves through the stories of others who have battled bullshit, like their inner critic, the 'shoulds' & antiquated social norms and through it all adopted the habits necessary to thrive through their Hot Mess moments!
If a "Successful Type A Women" Club existed, she would have been the president!
Annika is a former HR Manager and special needs mom, who has recovered from burnout and anxiety twice in the last 5 years. Prior to her bouts with burnout, she was a proud Type A woman who felt at ease with (and actually anticipated) achieving high levels of success in everything she did, school, work and life.
That was until her child was born 11 weeks early and her stress addiction nearly obliterated everything (she thought) she valued.
Type A Women suffer in silence
The weeks following the birth of her son, she and her husband slipped into survival mode, doing everything that needed to be done. Those months of traveling back and forth to the hospital, waiting by the phone with baited breath, worrying about every complication and relying on others to care for her son, led her down a path of guilt, shame and postpartum PTSD.
The confidence she once had in her ability to handle everything was eroding. She no longer trusted her body as, in her opinion, it clearly had failed to do what it was designed to do.
And as the consummate Type A woman and fixer of problems, she decided to “fix” herself. She believed she would never be seen as successful again.
But when she returned to work after parental leave her Type A habits kicked back in and she doubled up on work.
She needed to feel like she had control of something in her life
and taking a new position allowed her to escape her life and the guilt she felt for “ruining” the lives of those she loved the most. The years that followed filled with doubt and fear, reinforcing a new belief that she would never be seen as successful again.
Type A Women have a habit of not listening to their bodies.
This undercurrent of uncertainty and insecurity began to manifest in her body with unexplained pain, confusion and lethargy. As someone who relied on knowing all the answers and making everything work, this lack of understanding sent her spiralling into despair and into the pit of burnout. After an ear infection, food poisoning and months of prolonged malaise she experienced total incapacitation. It was the final straw in her burnout journey and from there she finally began to take the steps to release herself from her stress addiction.
Teaching Type A Women to break their stress addiction
Now years later, after working with a myriad of professionals and exploring wellness in a whole new way, she helps women as a Sleep and Health Coach so they too can avoid burnout by getting their energy and sleep back.
I hope you enjoyed this episode. And if this resonates with you and you feel like you’re burning out because you’re not sleeping or sleeping enough, but don’t feel rested, it’s time to reach out for help. Don’t try it alone. It is way faster and more motivating to do it with someone who understands your body, your situation and can support you. And getting support is NOT a failure, but seeing when you need it and ask for it is actually a strength.
